City dwellers, how do you do it?

[Flamincomet]

My boyfriend and I are seriously talking about moving to Seattle in 2016 when I finish my transfer degree so I can pursue a further education in animal behavior at UW and so he can pursue his writing career. Right now we live by WSU, but it's a pretty rural farming community. I've never lived in a big city, I've grown up in small towns my entire life, so I have no idea how to start planning for this. Are there any big city dwellers here who can share some insight on how they manage an active dog while living in the city? I have a 4 year old male, who is also my service dog, but he is VERY active so I do a lot with him. Specific information to Seattle is very much appreciated, but any general information from big city dwellers is appreciated.

 

These are the questions I can think of right now, but if you can add any info that I may not be thinking of, or that you didn't consider when moving to a big city with an active dog that would be great.

 

Do you live in the city, or outside of it? Is one cheaper than the other? If you live in pet friendly housing, are there fenced areas available to play with your dog(s)? If you have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find, and was it exceptionally more expensive?

 

If you don't have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find places to run your dog(s) off leash? Do you have to deal with ill-mannered or bad tempered dogs in order to do this?

 

What are the major downsides to living in or near a big city?

 

How hard is it to get to places to hike? Right now I drive about half an hour to get to a good hiking spot, but there are less desirable spots within 15 minutes of my home.

 

Where does your dog potty? We visited my bf's sister who lives in a pet friendly Seattle apartment, and they had designated potty spots on the roof, but they were fake grass, and smelled horrible. A lot of people didn't pick up after their dogs. Link hated them, and it took a few times for him to use them.

 

I'm looking forward to the variety and options in taking obedience and agility classes in a big city, does anyone have any recommendations? Positive training only please. What about any clubs? I'd love to join a club that has a community building for agility and obedience practice.

 

For the people who work their dogs, is it possible at all to find a place with enough property to keep sheep within a reasonable commute? If not, where do you work your dogs? Are there any sheep co-ops? How far do you have to travel to get to an instructor?

 

 

 

Sorry for all the questions! I'm a bit of an obsessive planner

[kat3cats]

well I lived out there over 15 years ago, but here's my 2 cents!

I lived in Issaquah. There are loads to do out that way, and there used to be some pet friendly apartments too. Lots of trails, and I'm trying to remember the name of the "mountain" out that way-- I believe it was Cougar Mtn and Squawk(sp?) Mtn trails. www.everytrail.com is a good place to look.

I lived in Issaquah BECAUSE I hate the "big city"-- Seattle was very intimidating to me! We looked at several apartments downtown and, because I had an 8 year old at the time, was very concerned about safety. The good thing about that whole Seattle area is that buses run EVERYWHERE so you're good to go on commutes.

We had an aussie shepherd at the time and we took her so many places. She was just an awesome hiking partner and explorer-- we never did any of the other stuff with her.

Seattle has SO many suburbs that you don't HAVE to live right downtown. "Downtown" used to be the most expensive place in the area to live. Good luck in your search, the NW is an awesome (albeit, expensive, to me at least...) place.

[highway61]

Do you live in the city, or outside of it? Is one cheaper than the other? If you live in pet friendly housing, are there fenced areas available to play with your dog(s)? If you have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find, and was it exceptionally more expensive?

 

Welcome! I live in a 'burb of Seattle called Wedgwood. It's just a mile or two north of UW. We bought our house before we had dogs but my house is a lot on the corner so there's the open front and side yards and the other side yard between the houses is fenced. That's where our two dogs are kept when no one is home.

 

If you don't have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find places to run your dog(s) off leash? Do you have to deal with ill-mannered or bad tempered dogs in order to do this?

 

I'm fortunate to live three short blocks from an elementary school that has a huge, fenced field. Many people in the niegborhood including myself use this space for off leash when school is out. I've never had a bad encounter with another dog/owner but that's not to say I never will. If that space is occupied with soccer, baseball, I can walk another four blocks to View Ridge Park and can usually off leash there as well if vacant enough. The Magnuson off leash park is also walking distance and so far, I've not had any trouble taking my 10 month there to socialize.

 

What are the major downsides to living in or near a big city?

 

The two that come to mind immediately are cost and crime! Typically homes in and around the greater Seattle area are expensive and taxes are high. Crime is a constant source of frustration as police seem uninterested in my experience. It's not the sticks where you feel comfortable to, on occasion forget to lock your doors.

 

How hard is it to get to places to hike? Right now I drive about half an hour to get to a good hiking spot, but there are less desirable spots within 15 minutes of my home.

 

Very easy. Depending on where you settle, you might need to drive more than 15 minutes but there is no shortage of mountains, hilltops and hiking paths.

 

Where does your dog potty? We visited my bf's sister who lives in a pet friendly Seattle apartment, and they had designated potty spots on the roof, but they were fake grass, and smelled horrible. A lot of people didn't pick up after their dogs. Link hated them, and it took a few times for him to use them.

 

Mine go anywhere but in the house but I have a house, not apartment.

 

I'm looking forward to the variety and options in taking obedience and agility classes in a big city, does anyone have any recommendations? Positive training only please. What about any clubs? I'd love to join a club that has a community building for agility and obedience practice.

 

I'm currently using Ahimsa, located in Ballard (about 4 miles from my house). As far as clubs for agility, that's something I need to look into once my (now) 10 month is ready and neutered!

 

For the people who work their dogs, is it possible at all to find a place with enough property to keep sheep within a reasonable commute? If not, where do you work your dogs? Are there any sheep co-ops? How far do you have to travel to get to an instructor?

 

This one I can't answer as I've not pursued this yet with my 10 month. But best of luck if you make it out here. Seattle is very dog friendly, seems everyone has at least one Lab or Golden!

[GoodbyeHalcyonDays]

While I don't live in Seattle, I used to live in NYC, so I can give you some input as to how I lived there with my BC.

• Do you live in the city, or outside of it? Is one cheaper than the other? If you live in pet friendly housing, are there fenced areas available to play with your dog(s)? If you have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find, and was it exceptionally more expensive?

I lived in Brooklyn, NY, in an condo home owned by my parents. Living in New York City, especially as you get closer to Manhattan, is extremely pricey compared to other places, but as you get further out, it becomes cheaper. My dad was the landlord, but he charged about $1,500 for a three bedroom apartment. I know in some places in Brooklyn by itself, a studio apartment could be as high as that depending on the neighborhood you lived in. The more "upscale", the pricier. Most apartments will not allow you to live with a dog (especially the bigger ones, think the "projects" buildings if you will...), but a smaller, family-owned one will let you keep one. Having a fence by itself is extremely rare, as there is very little room on the sidewalk to even allow it, and most places won't have a backyard. Mine did, but it was only big enough for people, not for a dog to play around in.

• If you don't have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find places to run your dog(s) off leash? Do you have to deal with ill-mannered or bad tempered dogs in order to do this?

New York City, and I'm sure Seattle, is very well known for having dog parks. This was pretty much the only way you could reliably exercise your dog if you weren't close enough to a big enough park like Central Park or Prospect Park. I didn't live close enough to a dog park itself to utilize it, but I lived about a mile away from a park that was used as an unofficial dog park. People would bring their dogs to a fenced in area, and they would exercise there. If you're fortunate enough to live in a good neighborhood, this shouldn't be a problem. Other than finding a large field for this, a lot of people I knew would actually go "jorring" with their dogs on the streets. You basically run, bike, skateboard, or rollerblade with your dog on a leash. I had a "dog powered scooter" for a brief time to try with my dog, but he didn't like it, so I just biked to and from the park with him.

• What are the major downsides to living in or near a big city?

I currently live in Muncie, IN, and the one thing that I am absolutely grateful here that I didn't have in NYC? Space. Lots of it. Now, my dog is pretty much free to run wherever his feet wants to take him, and I'm only barred by private property, but there's so much free and open, public places that doesn't even matter. It also helps that living here is immensely cheaper. $1,500 for rent ($500 per person) for a three bedroom apartment vs. $900 ($300 per person) for a four bedroom home with a very large fenced in yard? Yes, please.

• How hard is it to get to places to hike? Right now I drive about half an hour to get to a good hiking spot, but there are less desirable spots within 15 minutes of my home.

Again, this depends heavily on where you live. I had one place I could take my dog hiking, but it was about twice as far as the park I went to, and it just wasn't worth the effort. If you lived in a more friendly and upscale neighborhood (for example, Prospect or even near the Brooklyn Bridge), there were tons of places to go to. Location, location, and location.

• Where does your dog potty? We visited my bf's sister who lives in a pet friendly Seattle apartment, and they had designated potty spots on the roof, but they were fake grass, and smelled horrible. A lot of people didn't pick up after their dogs. Link hated them, and it took a few times for him to use them.

Most dogs will go anywhere on the sidewalk from what I've noticed, but mine was raised on a farm, and thus only wants to do it on grass. There are small little patches of grass on sidewalks that he goes in-- not too hard to find, but they are kind of far and in-between. I had to walk about three blocks back home to get him to a patch to go in, and had to pick up after.

• I'm looking forward to the variety and options in taking obedience and agility classes in a big city, does anyone have any recommendations? Positive training only please. What about any clubs? I'd love to join a club that has a community building for agility and obedience practice.

No recommendations from me since I don't live in Seattle.

• For the people who work their dogs, is it possible at all to find a place with enough property to keep sheep within a reasonable commute? If not, where do you work your dogs? Are there any sheep co-ops? How far do you have to travel to get to an instructor?

I can't answer this either as I don't work my dog (he's purely a pet that does frisbee only), but you wouldn't be able to do this in the city of New York. You'd have to drive out to do it, but I have known some people in a group called Brooklyn Border Collies who take their dogs to a sheep farm once or twice a month as a group activity, so I can't imagine it's too hard. Seattle, I am sure, is a lot more open than New York and you'd be able to find it easier.

The biggest thing, in my experience, for living in a city is the ability to get around. I can't drive, and dogs aren't allowed on public transportation in New York City (but they are allowed on Seattle buses!) was not being able to go anywhere unless I wanted to spend $50 for a taxi. I eventually got him a pet carrier to take on the subway (interpreting the rules of the MTA my way; technically legal, but not really), but even that was such a huge hassle to do that I didn't do it often, and only as a special occasion for when I wanted to take him somewhere new. If I had been able to drive, living in the city would have been immensely easier. This was the only downside, I think. If you do drive, and are willing to make the effort, a city's conveniences far outweigh everything else, in my opinion.

[Carol Lea Benjamin]

Hi Flamincomet, I live in NYC with a Border collie service dog. Since your dog is also a service dog, you should not have to worry about housing or public transportation. And if you take him with you everywhere, as most people do with service dogs, that should use up a lot of his energy. I'm sure there are dog parks and grassy areas where he can play with other dogs, if he likes doing that, or you can play ball with him. He will need to adjust to city sounds, traffic and a denser population. You can help him do this by alternating quieter places with noisy ones and watching him for signs of stress. My impression is that Seattle is pretty laid back and very dog friendly. If there's any way I can help, let me know. All the best!

[d112358]

I used to live in Seattle out near Magnuson, then moved north up to Shoreline, and have landed out in Woodinville nowadays.

 

If dog stuff is going to be a primary focus for you, you might consider living in Bellevue, Redmond or Issaquah and bus commuting to UW. The Eastside has better access to hiking, Marymoor off-leash park, and is closer to most of the agility facilities.

 

Most of the agility around Seattle is well out of the city proper. I'm taking classes with Megan Foster (Synergy Dog Sports) up in Maltby now, but she's moving an hour north to Mt. Vernon pretty soon. Sandra Katzen (Vortex Agility) has classes in Kent, Ali Johnson (Kinship Dog Training) has classes inside at SHS in Bellevue and seasonally outside in North Bend, and Andrea Dexter (AgilityFlix) runs private and semi-private lessons on a daylight field in Kent. Those are all that I've had as an instructor or sub, they all use positive methods and have slightly different focuses. Megan, Ali and Sandra all have at least one BC as well (Andrea runs Aussies).

[Flamincomet]

 

 

 

Thanks for the recommend, Ahimsa is at the top of my list right now, as well as Bright Spot Dog Training, though they are a bit further in Tacoma.

 

 

 

While I don't live in Seattle, I used to live in NYC, so I can give you some input as to how I lived there with my BC.

 

 

New York City, and I'm sure Seattle, is very well known for having dog parks. This was pretty much the only way you could reliably exercise your dog if you weren't close enough to a big enough park like Central Park or Prospect Park. I didn't live close enough to a dog park itself to utilize it, but I lived about a mile away from a park that was used as an unofficial dog park. People would bring their dogs to a fenced in area, and they would exercise there. If you're fortunate enough to live in a good neighborhood, this shouldn't be a problem. Other than finding a large field for this, a lot of people I knew would actually go "jorring" with their dogs on the streets. You basically run, bike, skateboard, or rollerblade with your dog on a leash. I had a "dog powered scooter" for a brief time to try with my dog, but he didn't like it, so I just biked to and from the park with him.

 

The biggest thing, in my experience, for living in a city is the ability to get around. I can't drive, and dogs aren't allowed on public transportation in New York City (but they are allowed on Seattle buses!) was not being able to go anywhere unless I wanted to spend $50 for a taxi. I eventually got him a pet carrier to take on the subway (interpreting the rules of the MTA my way; technically legal, but not really), but even that was such a huge hassle to do that I didn't do it often, and only as a special occasion for when I wanted to take him somewhere new. If I had been able to drive, living in the city would have been immensely easier. This was the only downside, I think. If you do drive, and are willing to make the effort, a city's conveniences far outweigh everything else, in my opinion.

I have a dog powered scooter too! But my dog also doesn't really like it, but more importantly it flared up an old knee injury so my vet vetoed it, and now I have to find a way to sell it in a town made up of almost all hills... :/ Fortunately regular biking is still fine, so I've been doing that a lot here to commute when the weather isn't bad, but I'm not sure if I have the nerves to bike with a dog in a city environment.

 

Thanks for the info about dogs on Seattle busses. Since my guy is a service dog I don't have to worry about that, but it's good to know so I can focus his training on that since we rarely see dogs anywhere in places he associates with working. I'm guessing that will probably be the biggest transition for him.

 

I'm really wary of dog parks since the average dog owner doesn't seem to be educated in most dog behavior and etiquette. Maybe it will be different in a bigger town though, or maybe I will be able to find a park that works. My experience has only been with smaller town dog parks.

 

Hi Flamincomet, I live in NYC with a Border collie service dog. Since your dog is also a service dog, you should not have to worry about housing or public transportation. And if you take him with you everywhere, as most people do with service dogs, that should use up a lot of his energy. I'm sure there are dog parks and grassy areas where he can play with other dogs, if he likes doing that, or you can play ball with him. He will need to adjust to city sounds, traffic and a denser population. You can help him do this by alternating quieter places with noisy ones and watching him for signs of stress. My impression is that Seattle is pretty laid back and very dog friendly. If there's any way I can help, let me know. All the best!

Thanks for replying Carol, you just reminded me that I should probably reread your book since it probably has some useful information for SD handlers in a city environment!

 

It's true working uses up a lot of his energy, but he's one of the most high drive dogs I've ever known (even our herding instructor comments on his very high drive), so I need to make sure he has high energy outlets every day. Luckily I have a treadmill for when the weather is bad, but he still gets a bit pent up in the winter when we can't get out to our hiking spots.

 

Thanks for the tips on the busier environment. I think the dense population will be something he'll need to adjust to, definitely. Our busses here especially are usually pretty sparsely populated, and I largely depend on public transportation, so I might put him back "in training" for a little bit until he's adjusted if we make the move.

 

 

I used to live in Seattle out near Magnuson, then moved north up to Shoreline, and have landed out in Woodinville nowadays.

 

If dog stuff is going to be a primary focus for you, you might consider living in Bellevue, Redmond or Issaquah and bus commuting to UW. The Eastside has better access to hiking, Marymoor off-leash park, and is closer to most of the agility facilities.

 

Most of the agility around Seattle is well out of the city proper. I'm taking classes with Megan Foster (Synergy Dog Sports) up in Maltby now, but she's moving an hour north to Mt. Vernon pretty soon. Sandra Katzen (Vortex Agility) has classes in Kent, Ali Johnson (Kinship Dog Training) has classes inside at SHS in Bellevue and seasonally outside in North Bend, and Andrea Dexter (AgilityFlix) runs private and semi-private lessons on a daylight field in Kent. Those are all that I've had as an instructor or sub, they all use positive methods and have slightly different focuses. Megan, Ali and Sandra all have at least one BC as well (Andrea runs Aussies).

Thank you for your reply, your comment about living outside of Seattle is very much appreciated. I'm really not familiar with the area at all, so when you said Bellevue and Redmond I thought that would be too far and not accessible, but in doing a bit of research it looks like that may be doable! I do depend on public transportation, and I have heard some comments from people living outside of Seattle about how time consuming it is to commute, can you give any insight on that? (Or anyone else who lives outside the city and commutes.) My boyfriend does have a car, but I'm still learning to drive stick, and neither of us like to drive, especially in populated areas, so I'd rather not commute to school if I can avoid it. Driving to agility/obedience and hiking isn't a problem, though I really appreciate your input about those areas being closer to that stuff because it would certainly make it more doable! Also thank you for your agility class recommendations!

[Flamincomet]

Weird, the multi quote function glitched, hope that post makes sense!

[GoodbyeHalcyonDays]

I have a dog powered scooter too! But my dog also doesn't really like it, but more importantly it flared up an old knee injury so my vet vetoed it, and now I have to find a way to sell it in a town made up of almost all hills... :/ Fortunately regular biking is still fine, so I've been doing that a lot here to commute when the weather isn't bad, but I'm not sure if I have the nerves to bike with a dog in a city environment.

I don't know how wide the streets are in Seattle, or if you're allowed on the sidewalks there while biking, but they have something called the "walky dog" that attaches to the back(?) of your bike that is kind of like a leash holder for your dog. After trying the dog scooter and realizing how frightful he was of being attached to something other than a human, I didn't bother trying that, and have found that I can bike with him as long as he's off leash, so I try to find empty streets for us to do this, but have been given a ticket once or twice before (thankfully got it thrown out for lack of jurisdiction).

 

My recommendation is to get a flag for your bike, as well as reflective vests for both you and your pooch. I've noticed that with the flag turned sideways slightly, drivers give you a LOT of room to work with because they fear hitting the flag, and quite frankly, the fastest you'll be going is about 5mph anyway; the people in the cars going 30-40mph can afford to slow down for a few seconds to pass.

 

Here's the walky dog thing I was talking about:

 

Not the best thing, but just a thought.

 

As far as dog parks go, you learn to pick up on who will be a troublemaker, especially if you frequent it enough to meet up with regulars. I had this one guy who brought his dog (Perseus or something) who was so hyped up with energy from lack of exercise, but was so rude and obnoxious (to the point he was practically bullying and attacking the other dogs) come to the dog park I went to that eventually, people got so fed up with him and asked him to not bring his dog if he couldn't control him. When he didn't listen, the people who did care about their dogs stayed together and either left when he came, or just kept our dogs all close together and didn't allow his dog to bully ours. A bit clique-ish, I know, but it worked, and the guy didn't come back after a few times. Seattle, from what I know of it, is extremely liberal and forgiving about a lot of things. I'm sure you'll be able to find a dog park that works for you. If not, then there's always the option of swimming or just frisbee/fetch.

[d112358]

Dog parks - Magnuson is designed for movement - walking down and back from the water, which eases the tension of ill-socialized dogs a bit. Marymoor is 40 acres and unfenced, so people don't usually bring dogs without a good recall and that helps a lot.

 

UW is a major commuter draw. If you can get to a freeway station easily 520 is a direct shot from Bellevue/Redmond into the U district, and there are buses running very frequently on express lanes. There is a bottleneck at the bridge, but the toll on 520 keeps it manageable, usually better than I-90. Play with Metro's trip planner: http://tripplanner.kingcounty.gov/ to see the trip timing; it's pretty accurate.

[sparrowly]

I live in Seattle with a high-energy 9 month old BC pup. Previously, we had a BC who lived to 14 years and thrived in the city. A key question is will you live in Seattle-proper or in the suburbs? And, apartment or house? Housing in Seattle is very expensive, both in-city and in the suburbs. Seattle-proper apartment rent can run $1800 and up from what I've read on Reddit and City Data, and that's the low end. It can vary by neighborhood too - do you know where in Seattle you'll end up? Each neighborhood has its own personality, so to speak. And, if your budget is modest, you may end up a good bit outside of the city.

 

We live in a house in an urban neighborhood near downtown, and have almost no yard - but great walks and urban hiking is right outside our door.

 

For exercise, our pup gets:

- 1+ hour morning neighborhood walk on weekdays that includes hundreds (I am not exaggerating) of public stairs. We go up and down hills and keep a very brisk pace.

- a shorter business-district walk for afternoon errands daily, and gets to go in the pet-friendly businesses for socialization

- 2-3 training sessions for tricks and mental stimulation

- 1 hour of play in the evening while I watch TV (tug, hide the toy, fetch, etc)

- dog park time 2-3x per week - she runs forever, loves the dog park

- play time at Ahimsa dog training 1x per week

- weekends include all the above, but the morning walk can be 90 minutes or more

- she will run with me once she's passed the one-year mark

 

Your specific questions:

Do you live in the city, or outside of it? Is one cheaper than the other? If you live in pet friendly housing, are there fenced areas available to play with your dog(s)? If you have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find, and was it exceptionally more expensive?

Seattle is expensive, much more expensive than Pullman. Outside the city is less expensive, but not cheap. I own my house, but when I rented in my neighborhood with our previous BC, it was very difficult to find a rental house that allowed dogs. Fenced yards in the city are small, if you can find them (and tied to $). Ultimately, it's going to come down to your budget, which I can't address as I don't know it, and how far away you're willing to commute to UW. Carnation is a small rural-ish town off I-90 and has more space and is cheaper, but it's a very long commute to and from Seattle.

If you don't have a fenced yard, how hard was it to find places to run your dog(s) off leash? Do you have to deal with ill-mannered or bad tempered dogs in order to do this?

See my response above as far as exercise. Dog parks can have ill-mannered dogs, but we worked very hard to socialize our BC, and she doesn't take anything personally (plus, she's way faster than any other dog, so can scoot out of a bad situation quickly). Ahimsa Dog Training does a great job with socialization, our BC has yet to meet a dog she can't get along with or handle in a polite manner.

What are the major downsides to living in or near a big city?

I love living in the city and see far more upsides. Downsides for a BC is lack of yard space, but we go to dog parks and on beach vacations. Downsides in general for Seattle: cost of living, parking, poor public transit, high taxes, traffic.

How hard is it to get to places to hike?

Easy - straight shot down 90 to Rattlesnake Ridge and other hiking spots. In-city, Discovery Park has nice trails.

Where does your dog potty?

I live in a house, but the yard is tiny. We use a small corner for potty duties, and keep it clean and tidy since it's small. No smell issues. Oh, and on walks too - bag it and toss it in a public garbage can (parks, bus stops, etc) if not near home.

I'm looking forward to the variety and options in taking obedience and agility classes in a big city, does anyone have any recommendations? Positive training only please.

Ahimsa Dog Training

For the people who work their dogs, is it possible at all to find a place with enough property to keep sheep within a reasonable commute? If not, where do you work your dogs? Are there any sheep co-ops? How far do you have to travel to get to an instructor?

Ewe-topia in Olympia gets raves, but I've never been. Too long of a drive with too much traffic. Will maybe try it out when our pup is older and I have a free weekend.

[Tommy Coyote]

I've always lived in the city with my dogs but I'm way too lazy to get them out for long walks and runs every day. I have a big backyard and they can run all they want out there. They get tons of exercise that way.

 

I would not want to try and keep my dogs without a back yard. They are all really active and just taking them for a walk once or twice a day would not cut it.

 

I used to pile them all in the car and take them to Smitville Lake in the winter where they could run for ever. But I stopped doing that just because it was too dangerous. There is so much people trash up there - like fish hooks. And so much rotten stuff to roll in - dead fish and dead water birds. And so many wild animals to tangle with. And I lot Jed one day when her tail got stuck in a bramble bush. She was in high grass and I couldn't find her. Finally I heard her bark and was able to get to her. Scared me to death.

 

So now they run in the backyard where it is a whole lot safer.

[brady's mom]

This looks pretty well covered, but you could always move outside of Seattle. Bothell is pretty affordable and it's small enough that it's rarely super busy. There are some apartments within walking distance to the school and parks if you want to take your collie there for fun and exercise. The best part is that, if you're working or going to school in downtown Seattle, Bothell's only about 15 minutes away in light traffic and 35-45 in heavy traffic.

 

Snoqualmie Pass is maybe 45 minutes away if you head to the summit and you can take your pup there or Wenatchee National Forest for hiking, camping, etc. Ellensburg is 74 minutes away and has some of the best hiking in the state (just watch out for rattlers and ticks). Also there is a TON of lakes near Seattle that offer lots of fun (or you could just go to the Sound).

 

Coming from Vancouver and Portland, which are both pretty dog-oriented cities, but are much smaller in size, I've come to really like Seattle. There's a lot going on.

[Flamincomet]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

That Walky Dog is neat, I already have a springer jogger attachment for my bike though, and I worry about the shock absorbtion of the Walky Dog for a bigger dog. I still don't think I'd feel comfortable biking with Link in the road though, the attachment on my springer jogger snapped once, luckily just as we were leaving home. It might have been because it was really old, but that still makes me really uncomfortable with the idea of biking that close to cars.

 

I'm not really sure if we'd want to actually live in the city, or near it. Our budget is modest right now, but my bf's sister lives in Seattle and runs a business that she's offered to get him a job at, plus he owns the condo we live in now, so would be getting income from renting it as well. I'm kind of liking the idea of living outside the city more though honestly, but it's nice to know it's possible to live with an active dog in a big city, with some work.

[Urban Borders]

Hmm. I think I need to move to Seattle. Have lived in Philly for 6+ years with dogs: my dogs have been attacked multiple times, other owners are incredibly irresponsible with not leashing their out of control dogs, there is almost no public green space, finding pet friendly housing is always difficult and more expensive, dog parks are the place to go if you want your dog to get worms or end up at the vet's with bite wounds, and going for walks means a gauntlet of chicken bones, barking dogs, and cars that never stop for pedestrian traffic. We make it work, but it is very hard on the dogs. As soon as my last two years are up, we are heading out of the city and never looking back.

[Cedzz]

I live in a metro area, I have a large backyard my boy enjoys to chase birds in along with daily walks to keep my boy from going stir crazy also I suggest you look into a dog training program that focus' on herding sheep, I'm not sure of what that is like in the states, I'm in Australia but we have a number a programs designed for working breeds that live in the city and it's good fun for everyone.